New Zealand give Brown recovery time

02 June 2010 12:18

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Brian Turner has reiterated that injured New Zealand midfielder Tim Brown will be given as much time as possible to prove his fitness ahead of the start of the team's World Cup campaign.

The All Whites vice-captain suffered a fractured right shoulder in the friendly loss to Australia and returned to New Zealand as his team-mates flew to Europe to continue their preparations for the tournament which begins in South Africa on June 11.

"He's an integral part of the team and I think we're all in agreement that we want to give him every opportunity we can so that he can participate," said New Zealand assistant coach Turner.

Brown had surgery in Auckland last week where three screws were inserted into the broken bone. He now faces a nervous wait to see if he can recover sufficiently to join his team-mates in time for their opener against Slovakia on June 15.